Sewing-machine



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. S. DINSMORE.

SEWING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 14,1891.

No. 450,225. v

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. s. DINSMORE. SEWING MACHINE.

No. 450,225. Patented Apr. 14, 1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE;

ALFRED s. DINSMORE, or BOSTON, MAssAonUsETTs.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,225, dated April 14, 1891. Application fi September 20, 1889- Serial No. 324,515. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED S. DINSMORE, of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Sewing-lilachines, of which the following descriptiomin connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters and figures on the drawings representinglike parts.

This invention has for its object to improve that class of sewing-machines used chiefly in factories for sewing together the ends of cloth more especially in. the piece.

Prior to this invention it has been custommy to place an end of two pieces of goods upon pins of a circular or on a straight basterplate and move the said plate, with the goods attached to it, under or past the stitch-forming devices; but this is objectionable for many reasons, among which is the twisting of the goods.

In this my invention the cloth is distended between holders, and the stitch-forming mechanism is reciprocated across the cloth, and at the same time the cloth is trimmed parallel to the line of seam by a trimming mechanism which traverses the cloth with the stitch-forming mechanism.

In--my invention means are provided. by which to readily change from one to another width of cloth, the sewing mechanism being automatically stopped on the completion of the scam. The machine isfed continuously over the cloth by means of gearing engaging a rack-bar, and the said rack-bar is adjustable to enable its position to be changed to adapt it to a larger or smaller gear, deriving its rotation from the hook-shaft to thus vary the length of the stitch.

My invention consists, essentially, in the combination, with cloth-holding devices and a track, of a carriage to run on said track and a stitch-forming and a trimming mechanism mounted on or movable with the said carriage, as will be described.

Other features of my invention will be hereinafter described, and specially set forth in the claims at the end of this specification.

Figure 1' in front elevation represents a sewing mechanism embodying my invention, the same being mounted on a stand, both partially broken out to save space on the drawing; Fig. 2,a detail of the rear side of the carriage alone; Fig. 3, a section to the left of the line 00, Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a top or plan view of Fig. 1, partiallybroken out to both save space on the drawing and to show parts which would otherwise be'concealed; Fig. 5, adetail of the carriage to show the adjustable gear and pinion instrumental in actuating the cutting or trimming mechanism. Fig.6 is a detail showing part of the cover-plate and pawl covered by it and the worm-gear on the hook-shaft; Fig. 7, a detail to be referred to; Fig. 8, a detail of the gears e 6 The stand consists, essentially, of end pieces A A, having at their tops skeleton hubs A and connected by a oross-girt A In practice the stand may, if desired, be mounted on casters or wheels, so that it may be easily rolled from place to place.

The bed B, having suitable track 13, on which may slide or travel the carriage B has near its opposite ends sockets B to fit the hubs A, the bed being free to be liftedfrom or to be applied to the stand,as desired' The bed has a rack a, which is secured thereto at suitable intervals in an adjustable manner by set-screws a, extended through Slots a in the rack-bar. The .bed has an upright 15*, which receives and holds a stud on which is mounted loosely two belt-pulleys B B, preferably connected together side by side or made in one piece, the pulley B being considered as the fast pulley, sothat when the driving-belt a driven from any usual counter or mill shaft, is on the said pulley B" the pulley B will 'be rotated, thus rotating the sewing machine driving-belt a which is extended over a directing-pulley B free to rotate on a stud in a standard B at the opposite end of the bed-plate,one'run of the said belt a (herein shown as the lower run) being extended in the form of a loop, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 1, up between the idle-wheels a a and over the usual driving-pulley a of the stitch-formin g mechanism to be described. The loose pulley O, of the same diameter as the pulley 13, close alongside of which it rests when the bed-plate is in place on the stand, is supported on a stud of a bracket C, connected to the said stand. A belt-shipper 0 shown as a forked arm extended from aship- IOO per-slide C may be moved at the proper time to shift the belt a from one to the other pulley 13 or O, and vice versa, as it is desired to start or stop the machine. The bed-plate has attached to it at one end a bracket pro- :5 vided with a pin or point 2, the said bracket having an arm 0 attached to it in an adjustable manner by a set-screw 3, the said arm having a point or pin 4. The bed-plate has applied to its track an auxiliary holding-car- IO riage D, having a bracket D, provided with.

a point 5, the said bracket having adjustably attached to it by screws 6 6 a holding-armD provided with a pin 7. By adjusting the arms C and D with relation to the bracket C and D the ends of two pieces of cloth applied to all the said pins may be held distended at each side the line of seam.

The auxiliary holding-carriage D has a dog D (shown as a lever pivoted at D the lower end of the lever being made to grasp the track l3 next to it more or less closely by the thumbscrew 8, rotation of the said thumb-screw in the direction to cause the dog to release the bed-plate, leaving the said holding-carriage free to be moved by hand in the said bedplate, to adapt the apparatus to cloth of any desired width, which may be done by adj usting the carriage D on the track toward or from the arm B".

The traverse of the sewing mechanism on the track must be stopped automatically at the proper time, according to the width of cloth to be stitched, and to do this, no matter what is the position of the carriage D, I have 3 5 provided the stand with suitable bearings, in

which I have mounted loosely a shipper-actuating rod 1), of irregular shape in cross-section. This rod receives upon it loosely a stopcollar 1), (shown best in Fig. 3,) a spiral spring 40 b and a collar b having a set-screw 10, by which to fix it to the said rod 1). The rod 1) near its end has fast on it a cam projection b (Shown in Fig. 1 by dotted lines, and separately in Fig. 7.)

\Vhen the carriage D is to be adjusted to correspond to the width of the cloth to be sewed together at the ends of the piece, the collar 19 will be loosened, and after the carriage D has been secured in adjusted position theloose collar 1) is pushed against the projection 12 of the lever D one end of the spring b is'pushed up against the said loose collar, and the collar b isthen pushed against the opposite end of the said spring and fastened by set- 5 5 screw 10, the cam projection Z9 standing close to the shipper-fork 0 In this way when the carriage B is moved from left to right a lug 13 on the carriage (see Fig. 2) meets the collar b and moves it and the rod Z) far enough to cause the cam 12 to act on the shipper-fork C and move the belt a from the pulley 13 upon the loose pulley'O to stop the machine, the spring returning the cam b into its normal position whenever the carriage is started back, as it is by hand, to its starting-point, thus leaving the fork (3 free to be moved by the hand on the handle 14 of rod 0 when it end the belt-pulley a and at its opposite end a hook a the said stitch-forming mechanism being that commonly known as a Willcox & Gibbs and making a chain-stitch with a single thread carried by the needle.

The stitch-forming devices are not of my invention, and I do not desire to limit my invention to only such mechanism, as I may use any other well-known stitch-forming device.

The hook-shaft has fast on it a worm 0 which engages and rotates a worm-toothed gear d, fast on a wheel-shaft d, having bearings in a suitable casing d partially broken out in Fig. 4: to show the gearing. The shaft cl at its lower end has removably attached to it a feeding-gear d (partially shown in Fig. 4 by breaking away part of the gear (1,)

the said gear (1 engaging the rack a and in its rotation causing the carriage B to be moved on the track, the carriage carrying with it the stitch-forming mechanism, it being actuated by the moving belt a, no matter what the position of the said carriage, and as it travels over the cloth held stretched between the. pins 2,4, 5, and 7 stitches the same together. If it is desired to alter the length of stitch, the gear 01 will be removed and a gear of larger or smaller diameter'will be ap plied in its place and the rack Ct will be adj usted to engage the teeth of the said wheel. The carriage B has a slot 15 to receive a stud-screw e, (see Fig. 5,) which is adjustable therein by a nut 16. The stud-screw e receives on it loosely a bevel-gear 6 having a dog 30, (see Fig. 8,) and just below the said gear 6 the said stud-screw c has loose on it a gear 6, the hub of which next the said bevel-gear has ratchet orother teeth 31. The gear 6 engages the gear a fast on the shaft 6 carrying the cutter c and rotating the said shaft and cutter. The shaft 6 at its opposite end has fast on it a gear 6, shown partially in Fig; 4, by breaking away a part of gear f, of like size above it, but on the shaft f, to which is attached, as shown,

the upper cutter member f the, two shafts e and f, as shown, rotating in unison and rotating the cutters e f to trim the cloth, being stitched parallel to the line of stitching, the cloth being severed transversely or trimmed by the traveling of the cutter over or across the cloth with the stitch-forming mechanism.

I \Vhen the rack a is adjusted to adapt it to ICC the size of the gear (1' which is to be used, the stud-screw 6 will also be loosened to enable-the gears e e to be adjusted, and the gear 6 being at the same time loosened from the shaft e to permit it to follow the gear (2 The dog normally engages the ratchetteeth of the gear e, which engages the rack a, and the said teeth point in such direction that when the carriage is being moved over the bed in the direction to stitch a seam the ratchet engages the dog and rotates the bevelgear 6 but when the carriage B is moved back on the track by hand the ratchet-teeth check or stop under the dog and the cutters are not rotated.

Prior to my invention I am not aware that a machine has ever been devised in which the stitch forminga-nd trimming or cutting mechanism has traveled simultaneously over the cloth while the latter is held stretched, so I do not desire to limit my invention to the exact form of stitch forming mechanism, or to the exact form of cutting or trimming mechanism, nor to the exact form of actuating device for the stitch-forming mechanism,

but desire to include as within the scope of my invention any well-known equivalent devices.

The worm 0 as shown best in Fig. 6, is provided at the end with a notch 18, which is engaged by a pawl 19,-pivoted at 20 on the cap-plate d of the frame or case (P, the said pawl acting when the hook-shaft is reversed to stop the stitch-formin g mechanism with the needle.

The track herein shown is composed of the beveled edges of the bed-plate, the two carriages B and D being provided with dovetailed grooves to embrace the same, as best shown in Fig. 3.

I have shown herein the hook-shaft as driven by a belt;but I do not limit my invention to such manner of driving, for the said shaft might be, if desired, rotated by hand.

I claim- 1. In a sewing-machine, a track and a carriage movable thereon, combined with a stitch-forming mechanism and cloth-cutting mechanism carried by and movable with the said carriage, the longitudinal movement of the carriage actuating the cloth-cutting mechanism, and connecting means, substantially as described, intermediate the track and clothcutting mechanism, substantially as described.

2. A bed-plate having pulleys B B the carriage B stitch-forming mechanism mounted thereon, and the sheaves a a, combined with the belt a extended over the said pulleys and sheaves and over the belt-pulley of the stitch-forming mechanism, and independent cloth-cutting mechanism carried by said carriage and actuated by the longitudinal movement of the carriage, substantially as described.

3. The bed-plate, the carriage .13 thereon,

the sewing mechanism, the hook-shaft thereof having the worm, the shaft (1', worm-toothed gear (I, and the toothed gear (1 combined with the rack, and means for driving the hook-shaft, the rotation of the hook-shaft effectin g the longitudinal or feeding motion of the carriagealoug the track, substantially as described.

4. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate and the adjustable rack-bar, combined with the carriage having the shaft d and the gear (i and means to rotate the said shaft, substantially as described.

5. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate, the rack, the carriage, the shafts e and f, and gears f, carried by the carriage, and rotating cutters 6 f combined with the gear 6 and gearing between it and the said rack comprising loose gears, a dog carried by one and ratchet-teeth on the other of said loose gears to actuate the said cutter-shafts when the car riage is moved in one direction, substantially as described.

6. The stand having the hubs A and the bed-plate having the sockets, and the carriage B combined with stitch-forming mechanism mounted on the said carriage, substantially as described,

7. :The stand provided with the loose pulley 0, combined with the detachable bedplate having pulleys B B E the carriage B stitch-forming mechanism thereon, and the belts a a to operate substantially as described.

8. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate, the carriage B having a projection 13, the carriage D, adjustable on the said bed-plate, and the belt-shipper, combined with the rod Z), having a cam projection to move the beltshipper, the loose collar 1), the spring, and the adjustable collar b to enable the movement of the carriage B to be stopped automatically, substantially as described.

9. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate,-its attached cloth-holding arm 0 and adjustable holding-arm C the adjustable carriage D, its attached cloth-holding arm B, and the adjustable holding-arm D combined with the movable carriage B and stitch-forming mechanism carried thereby, substantially as described.

10. In a sewing-machine, the bed-plate, its attached cloth-holding arm 0 and'adj ustable holding-arm C the adjustable carriage D, its attached cloth-holding arm B, and the adjustable holding-arm D combined with the movable carriage B and stitch-forming mechanism and cutting mechanism, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ALFREDS. DINSMORE.

Witnesses:

GEO. W. GREGORY, E. J BENNETT. 

